The present invention relates to semiconductor switching devices, and more particularly to switching devices for high power applications and methods of forming same.
The silicon bipolar transistor has been the device of choice for high power applications in motor drive circuits, appliance controls, robotics and lighting ballasts. This is because bipolar transistors can be designed to handle relatively large current densities in the range of 40-50 A/cm2 and support relatively high blocking voltages in the range of 500-1000V.
Despite the attractive power ratings achieved by bipolar transistors, there exist several fundamental drawbacks to their suitability for all high power applications. First of all, bipolar transistors are current controlled devices that require relatively large base currents, typically one fifth to one tenth of the collector current, to maintain the transistor in an operating mode. Proportionally larger base currents can be expected for applications that also require high speed turn-off. Because of the large base current demands, the base drive circuitry for controlling turn-on and turn-off is relatively complex and expensive. Bipolar transistors are also vulnerable to premature breakdown if a high current and high voltage are simultaneously applied to the device, as commonly required in inductive power circuit applications. Furthermore, it is relatively difficult to operate bipolar transistors in parallel because current diversion to a single transistor typically occurs at high temperatures, making emitter ballasting schemes necessary.
The silicon power MOSFET was developed to address this base drive problem. In a power MOSFET, the gate electrode provides turn-on and turn-off control upon the application of an appropriate gate bias. For example, turn-on in an N-type enhancement mode MOSFET occurs when a conductive N-type inversion layer channel is formed in the P-type base region (also referred to as xe2x80x9cchannel regionxe2x80x9d) in response to the application of a positive gate bias. The inversion layer channel electrically connects the N-type source and drain regions and allows for majority carrier conduction therebetween.
The power MOSFET""s gate electrode is separated from the base region by an intervening insulating layer, typically silicon dioxide. Because the gate is insulated from the base region, little if any gate current is required to maintain the MOSFET in a conductive state or to switch the MOSFET from an on-state to an off-state or vice-versa. The gate current is kept small during switching because the gate forms a capacitor with the MOSFET""s base region. Thus, only charging and discharging current (xe2x80x9cdisplacement currentxe2x80x9d) is required during switching. Because of the high input impedance associated with the insulated-gate electrode, minimal current demands are placed on the gate and the gate drive circuitry can be easily implemented. Moreover, because current conduction in the MOSFET occurs through majority carrier transport only, the delay associated with the recombination and storage of excess minority carriers is not present. Accordingly, the switching speed of power MOSFETs can be made orders of magnitude faster than that of bipolar transistors. Unlike bipolar transistors, power MOSFETs can be designed to withstand high current densities and the application of high voltages for relatively long durations, without encountering the destructive failure mechanism known as xe2x80x9csecond breakdownxe2x80x9d. Power MOSFETs can also be easily paralleled, because the forward voltage drop across power MOSFETs increases with increasing temperature, thereby promoting an even current distribution in parallel connected devices.
In view of these desirable characteristics, many variations of power MOSFETs have been designed. Two popular types are the double-diffused MOSFET device (DMOSFET) and the UMOSFET device. These and other power MOSFETs are described in a textbook by B. J. Baliga entitled Power Semiconductor Devices, PWS Publishing Co. (ISBN 0-53494098-6) (1995), the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. Chapter 7 of this textbook describes power MOSFETs at pages 335-425. Examples of silicon power MOSFETs including accumulation, inversion and extended trench FETs having trench gate electrodes extending into an N+ drain region are also disclosed in an article by T. Syau, P. Venkatraman and B. J. Baliga, entitled Comparison of Ultralow Specific On-Resistance UMOSFET Structures: The ACCUFET, EXTFET, INVFET, and Conventional UMOSFETs, IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices, Vol. 41, No. 5, May (1994). As described by Syau et al., specific on-resistances in the range of 100-250 xcexcxcexa9cm2 were experimentally demonstrated for devices capable of supporting a maximum of 25 volts. However, the performance of these devices was limited by the fact that the forward blocking voltage must be supported across the gate oxide at the bottom of the trench.
FIG. 1, which is a reproduction of FIG. 1(d) from the aforementioned Syau et al. article, discloses a conventional UMOSFET structure. In the blocking mode of operation, this UMOSFET supports most of the forward blocking voltage across the N-type drift layer that must be doped at relatively low levels to obtain a high maximum blocking voltage capability, however low doping levels typically increase the on-state series resistance. Based on these competing design requirements of high blocking voltage and low on-state resistance, a fundamental figure-of-merit for power devices has been derived that relates specific on-resistance (Ron,sp) to the maximum blocking voltage (BV). As explained at page 373 of the aforementioned textbook to B. J. Baliga, the ideal specific on-resistance for an N-type silicon drift region is given by the following relation:
Ron,sp=5.93xc3x9710xe2x88x929(BV)2.5xe2x80x83xe2x80x83(1) 
Thus, for a device with 60 volt blocking capability, the ideal specific on-resistance is 170 xcexcxcexa9cm2. However, because of the additional resistance contribution from the base region (e.g., P-type base region in an N-channel MOSFET), reported specific on-resistances for UMOSFETs are typically much higher. For example, a UMOSFET having a specific on-resistance of 730 xcexcxcexa9cm2 is disclosed in an article by H. Chang, entitled Numerical and Experimental Comparison of 60V Vertical Double-Diffused MOSFETs and MOSFETs With A Trench-Gate Structure, Solid-State Electronics, Vol. 32, No. 3, pp. 247-251 (1989). However, in this device, a lower-than-ideal uniform doping concentration in the drift region was required to compensate for the high concentration of field lines near the bottom corner of the trench when blocking high forward voltages. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,637,989, 5,742,076 and 5,912,497, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated herein be reference, also disclose popular power semiconductor devices having vertical current carrying capability.
In particular, U.S. Pat. No. 5,637,898 to Baliga discloses a preferred silicon field effect transistor that is commonly referred to as a graded-doped (GD) UMOSFET. As illustrated by FIG. 2, which is a reproduction of FIG. 3 from the ""898 patent, a unit cell 100 of an integrated power semiconductor device field effect transistor may have a width xe2x80x9cWCxe2x80x9d of 1 xcexcm and comprise a highly doped drain layer 114 of first conductivity type (e.g., N+) substrate, a drift layer 112 of first conductivity type having a linearly graded doping concentration therein, a relatively thin base layer 116 of second conductivity type (e.g., P-type) and a highly doped source layer 118 of first conductivity type (e.g., N+). The drift layer 112 may be formed by epitaxially growing an N-type in-situ doped monocrystalline silicon layer having a thickness of 4 xcexcm on an N-type drain layer 114 having a thickness of 100 xcexcm and a doping concentration of greater than 1xc3x971018 cmxe2x88x923 (e.g. 1xc3x971019 cm3) therein. The drift layer 112 also has a linearly graded doping concentration therein with a maximum concentration of 3xc3x971017 cm3 at the N+/N junction with the drain layer 114, and a minimum concentration of 1xc3x971016 cm3 beginning at a distance 3 xcexcm from the N+/N junction (i.e., at a depth of 1 xcexcm) and continuing at a uniform level to the upper face. The base layer 116 may be formed by implanting a P-type dopant such as boron into the drift layer 112 at an energy of 100 keV and at a dose level of 1xc3x971014 cmxe2x88x922. The P-type dopant may then be diffused to a depth of 0.5 xcexcm into the drift layer 112. An N-type dopant such as arsenic may also be implanted at an energy of 50 keV and at dose level of 1xc3x971015 cmxe2x88x922. The N-type and P-type dopants can then be diffused simultaneously to a depth of 0.5 xcexcm and 1.0 xcexcm, respectively, to form a composite semiconductor substrate containing the drain, drift, base and source layers.
A stripe-shaped trench having a pair of opposing sidewalls 120a that extend in a third dimension (not shown) and a bottom 120b is then formed in the substrate. For a unit cell 100 having a width Wc of 1 xcexcm, the trench is preferably formed to have a width xe2x80x9cWtxe2x80x9d of 0.5 xcexcm at the end of processing. An insulated gate electrode, comprising a gate insulating region 124 and an electrically conductive gate 126 (e.g., polysilicon), is then formed in the trench. The portion of the gate insulating region 124 extending adjacent the trench bottom 120b and the drift layer 112 may have a thickness xe2x80x9cT1xe2x80x9d of about 2000 xc3x85 to inhibit the occurrence of high electric fields at the bottom of the trench and to provide a substantially uniform potential gradient along the trench sidewalls 120a. The portion of the gate insulating region 124 extending opposite the base layer 116 and the source layer 118 may have a thickness xe2x80x9cT2xe2x80x9d of about 500 xc3x85 to maintain the threshold voltage of the device at about 2-3 volts. Simulations of the unit cell 100 at a gate bias of 15 Volts confirm that a vertical silicon field effect transistor having a maximum blocking voltage capability of 60 Volts and a specific on-resistance (Rsp,on) of 40 xcexcxcexa9cm2, which is four (4) times smaller than the ideal specific on-resistance of 170 xcexcxcexa9cm2 for a 60 volt power UMOSFET, can be achieved. Notwithstanding these excellent characteristics, the transistor of FIG. 2 may suffer from a relatively low high-frequency figure-of-merit (HFOM) if the overall gate-to-drain capacitance (CGD) is too large. Improper edge termination of the MOSFET may also prevent the maximum blocking voltage from being achieved.
Additional prior art MOSFETs are also disclosed in JP 63-296282 (Sony Corp), published Dec. 12, 1988. In particular, JP 63-296282 discloses a MOSFET with first and second gate electrodes built up in a trench and with a gate insulating film therebetween. U.S. Pat. No. 5,578,508 to Baba et al. discloses a vertical power MOSFET that utilizes a buried polysilicon layer within a trench as an ion implantation mask layer that prevents ions from being implanted into the trench bottom at the time of the channel ion implantation. U.S. Pat. No. 5,283,201 to Tsang et al. also discloses a vertical MOSFET having a recessed gate electrode. U.S. Pat. No. 4,941,026 to Temple discloses a vertical channel semiconductor device that includes an insulated gate electrode disposed adjacent a substantial portion of a voltage supporting region. In response to an appropriate bias, the control electrode couples to an electric field originating on charges within the voltage supporting region to reorient the electric field associated with those charges toward the gate electrode and transverse to the direction of current flow through the device.
Thus, notwithstanding these attempts to develop power semiconductor devices that can be switched at high speed and have high maximum blocking voltage capability and low specific on-resistance, there still continues to be a need to develop power devices having improved electrical characteristics.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide integrated circuit power devices having low on-state resistance and high maximum blocking voltage capability, and methods of forming same.
It is another object of the present invention to provide integrated circuit power devices having excellent high frequency switching characteristics, and methods of forming same.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide integrated circuit power devices having reduced susceptibility to parasitic oxide breakdown, and methods of forming same.
These and other objects, advantages and features of the present invention are provided by integrated power semiconductor device that may comprise a plurality of graded-doped (GD) UMOSFET unit cells having, among other things, improved high frequency switching performance, improved edge termination characteristics and reduced on-state resistance. The preferred integrated power semiconductor devices may also include integral Schottky barrier flyback diodes and shielded gate insulating regions.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, a GD-UMOSFET is provided having an upper trench-based gate electrode and a lower trench-based source electrode. The use of the trench-based source electrode instead of a larger gate electrode that occupies the entire trench reduces the gate-to-drain capacitance (CGD) of the UMOSFET and thereby improves switching speed by reducing the amount of gate charging and discharging current that is needed during high frequency operation. In this embodiment of an integrated power semiconductor device, a plurality of GD-UMOSFET unit cells may be provided side-by-side in a semiconductor substrate having first and second opposing faces. Source and drain regions of first conductivity type (e.g., N+) are also provided in the substrate. The source region may extend adjacent the first face and the drain region may extend adjacent the second face. A drift region of first conductivity type is also provided in the substrate. The drift region, which forms a non-rectifying junction with the drain region, may be formed as an epitaxial layer of predetermined thickness and the doping profile in the drift region may be linearly graded and decrease in a direction from the drain region to the first face. For an enhancement mode UMOSFET device, a base region of second conductivity type (e.g., P-type) is formed in the substrate. The base region extends between the source region and the drift region and forms first and second P-N junctions therewith, respectively.
A plurality of trenches are also provided in the substrate, at the first face. These trenches may be formed as parallel stripe-shaped trenches. With respect to a particular unit cell, a first trench may be provided having opposing sidewalls when viewed in transverse cross-section. One of these sidewalls preferably extends adjacent the drift region and the base region. The first trench may also have a bottom that extends opposite the drain region. In particular, the bottom of the first trench may define an interface between an interior of the first trench and the drift region or an interior of the trench and the drain region, depending on the depth of the first trench and the thickness of the drift region. A gate electrode is also provided in the first trench. This gate electrode preferably extends opposite the base region so that a vertical inversion layer channel can be formed in the base region when an appropriate bias is applied to the gate electrode.
According to a preferred aspect of this embodiment of the present invention, a first source electrode is also provided in the first trench and this first source electrode extends between the gate electrode and the bottom of the first trench. An electrically insulating region is also provided in the first trench. This electrically insulating region extends along the sidewalls of the first trench, between the gate electrode and the first source electrode and between the first source electrode and the bottom of the trench. The inclusion of this source electrode adjacent the bottom of the first trench improves the breakdown and high frequency switching characteristics of the UMOSFET with only minimal impact on specific on-state resistance.
According to another preferred aspect of this invention, the electrically insulating region includes a gate insulating region having a first thickness (e.g., T2xe2x89xa6750 xc3x85) as measured between the gate electrode and the sidewall of the first trench, and a source insulating region having a second thickness (e.g., T1xe2x89xa71500 xc3x85) as measured between the first source electrode and the same sidewall. In addition, a second source electrode is provided on the first face, in ohmic contact with the source region. The first and second source electrodes are electrically connected together.
Improved edge termination characteristics can also be achieved by forming a second trench that extends adjacent the first trench and defines an edge of the integrated power device comprising the plurality of side-by-side GD-UMOSFET unit cells. According to this aspect of the present invention, a uniformly thick first field plate insulating region is provided that lines the sidewalls and bottom of the second trench and a field plate is provided on the first field plate insulating region. This field plate is preferably connected to the source electrode. In addition, a second field plate insulating region is provided on the first face and this second field plate insulating region is contiguous with the first field plate insulating region. A field plate extension is provided on the second field plate insulating region and extends opposite the first face. This field plate extension is electrically connected to the field plate in the second trench.
To improve the edge termination and breakdown characteristics of the integrated power device even further, the second trench is positioned so that the first and second trenches define a transition mesa region therebetween. However, unlike the mesa regions that may be defined between trenches within the active area of the integrated power device, the transition mesa region is preferably formed to be devoid of a source region of first conductivity type. Instead, a preferred breakdown shielding region of second conductivity type (e.g., P+) is provided that extends to the first face and forms a third P-N junction with the drift region. Here, the breakdown shielding region may be formed deeper (and more highly doped) than the base region (and shallower than the first trench) to increase the likelihood that avalanche breakdown will occur in the transition mesa region instead of within the active area. This movement of avalanche breakdown away from the active area improves device reliability. According to still further aspects of the present invention, an integrated power semiconductor device may include an integral Schottky barrier diode (SBD) along one sidewall of a trench and a GD-UMOSFET along an opposing sidewall of the trench. In particular, a Schottky rectifying junction can be formed to a uniformly doped portion of the drift region that extends adjacent the first face. This composite SBD and GD-UMOSFET is valuable for motor control and synchronous rectifier applications.
According to other preferred embodiments of the present invention, UMOSFETs may be provided that comprise a semiconductor substrate having a source region and a drain contact region of first conductivity type therein and a trench in the substrate. An insulated gate electrode may also be provided in the trench. The trench also preferably comprises a buried source electrode that extends between the insulated gate electrode and a bottom of the trench. The buried source electrode and the source region are electrically connected together. A base region of second conductivity type is also provided in the semiconductor substrate. This base region extends to a sidewall of the trench so that application of a gate bias of sufficient magnitude to the insulated gate electrode induces formation of an inversion-layer channel in the base region.
A drift region of first conductivity type is provided that extends to the sidewall of the trench and opposite the buried source electrode. During operation, this drift region operates in a velocity saturation mode. To provide isolation and improve performance by enabling linear and velocity saturation operation modes in the channel and drift region, respectively, a transition region of first conductivity type is provided that extends between the drift region and the base region. This transition region forms non-rectifying and rectifying junctions with the drift region and base region, respectively. The transition region also has a higher first conductivity type doping concentration therein relative to a first conductivity type doping concentration in a portion of the drift region extending adjacent the non-rectifying junction. The UMOSFET may also constitute a GD-UMOSFET by doping the drift region so that it has a graded doping profile therein that increases in a direction extending from the non-rectifying junction to the drain region. The doping profile and shape of the base region may also be tailored so that the transition region become fully depleted as the voltage in the channel becomes close to the gate voltage.
Still further embodiments of the present invention include a semiconductor substrate having a drift region of first conductivity type therein and first and second trenches that extend lengthwise in a first direction in the substrate. These first and second trenches define a semiconductor mesa therebetween into which the drift region extends. First and second buried insulated source electrodes extend adjacent bottoms of the first and second trenches, respectively. First and second spaced-apart insulated gate electrodes are also provided. These gate electrodes do not extend lengthwise in respective trenches, but instead extend lengthwise in a second direction and overlap the mesa. Each of the gate electrodes also extends into a respective shallow trench within the first buried insulated source electrode and a respective shallow trench within the second buried insulated source electrode. The first and second directions may be orthogonal to each other.
Methods of forming these preferred vertical MOSFETs may include forming a base region of second conductivity type in a semiconductor substrate having a drift region of first conductivity type therein that forms a P-N junction with the base region. A source region of first conductivity type is also formed in the base region. A step is also performed to define a deep trench having a first sidewall that extends adjacent the base region, in the semiconductor substrate. This deep trench is then lined with a first electrically insulating layer. The lined deep trench is then filled with a trench-based source electrode. The trench-based source electrode is then selectively etched to define a plurality of shallow trenches therein that are spaced apart along the length of the trench-based source electrode. In each of these shallow trenches, a respective first portion of the first electrically insulating layer that extends on the first sidewall of the deep trench is exposed. Another etching step is then performed to remove the exposed first portions of the first electrically insulating layer and reveal the base region at multiple locations along the length of the trench-based source electrode. A thermal oxidation step is then performed on the portions of the base region that are revealed within the shallow trenches. This thermal oxidation step results in the formation of gate oxide layers on the revealed portions of the base region. A plurality of insulated gate electrodes are then formed on the surface of the substrate. Each of these insulated gate electrodes extends across the mesa(s) and into a respective shallow trench within each of the plurality of trench-based source electrodes. A surface source electrode is also provided that electrically connects the trench-based source electrode, source region and base region together.